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By Nusaiba Imady
managing editor
See ASL, pg. 2
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ST. CATHERINE UNIVERSITY STUDENT NEWSPAPER
november 6, 2013 - VOLUME 81 ISSUE 4
THE Wheel
This newspaper, like many other things, is recyclable.Soon to be Online! Watch for updates.
Index: News:2-4 Opinion:4 features:4-6 health:7 sports:8
ASL department reaches 30 year milestone
In 1983, back when St. Kate’s Minneapolis campus was still St. Mary’s Junior College, Pauline Annarino, the first director of the Health Care Interpreting program, received a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. It was called a Fund for Improvement of Post Secondary Education (FIPSE) grant and functioned to train students in Healthcare American Sign Language (ASL) interpreting. What started off then as an associate’s degree program has expanded to become a department recognized internationally for the pioneering it has done within the interpreting profession and education.
The St. Kate’s ASL & Interpreting department started off as the only interpreting program in the world to offer a Healthcare Interpreting program for ASL/English interpreters. The department expanded from a two to four year program when it was realized that the associate’s degree did not allow the students enough time to become proficient in ASL. Expanding to offer a bachelor of arts degree changed professional standards and expectations and allowed the program to reflect the current research in ASL and interpreting.
Paula Gajewski-Mickelson, the ASL & Interpreting department chair, remarked on how the ASL department is constantly moving forward.
“Our faculty, department [and] the program reflect a commitment to high quality education and innovation” Gajewski-Mickelson said. “We are always talking about what we’re doing, what the students are learning and how we can do it better. This is why our program is such a strong one; it continues to develop as the field develops.”
St. Kate’s offers three possible programs of study that include ASL. The first, a minor in ASL as a language, is highly recommended for any students with an interest in the language and wishes to pair it with any other major program of study. The second, a major in ASL, does not give students the ability to interpret but affords them a program to concentrate on studying the language and Deaf Culture, much like majoring in French or Spanish would. The third is the ASL Interpreting major. The ASL & Interpreting department is the only interpreter education program accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Interpreter Education in Minnesota and is among a handful of programs in the United States to offer an accredited bachelor’s degree program
On Oct. 24, the St. Kate’s Food Justice Coalition (FJC) collaborated with Sodexo to celebrate Food Day by offering a multitude of events, services and information on campus. Sodexo has been cultivating relationships with local farmers all around the Midwest through their “Better Tomorrow” plan, which emphasizes increased sustainability and ethical business practices. The “Better Tomorrow” plan finds value in communicating with community members and has specified collaborative green goals for 2015 and 2020, which can be found in the St. Kate’s cafeteria.
“Concentrating on dialogue and joint actions with our stakeholders is key for us to define and refine our strategy for sustainable development and areas of action,” the Sodexo website says.
As a component of Food Day, the cafeteria held a lunch that highlighted dishes made with meat, dairy and produce from local farms, up to 60 miles away. FJC member Emily Paquette ‘14 revealed the results of a preference poll for the local dishes served.
“Students really liked the grilled cheese, which was three local cheeses and local McIntosh apples sandwiched between thick local bread,” Paquette said.
She said that another one of the FJC’s goals for Food Day was to highlight the salad bar, which has options from local farms every day.
Additionally, students from the FJC tabled and handed out recipes that could be made using ingredients found in the cafeteria salad bar. Kat Groshens, president of the FJC, provides enlightenment as to why eating locally and sustainably is so important to our campus and our planet.
“There is value in reducing food miles between farm and fork because it helps to decrease transportation emissions and ultimately to mitigate climate change,” Groshens said. “Since foods produced and bought locally have fewer miles to travel, it also means people get food when it’s fresh. By choosing local foods we can help to support our community’s farmers, and in turn help to build resilience and self-reliance in our neighborhoods, both economically and ecologically. An increase in local foods can boost community food security if managed correctly and reduce hunger. Investing in local foods can even help recover near-extinct varieties of crops.”
Groshens also emphasized the fact that not all local foods are produced sustainably, so it is vital to act as an “informed consumer,” rather than a “conformed consumer.”
“We must be wary of being “green-washed” by businesses looking to jump on the local/natural/green foods bandwagon without genuine commitment to the cause,” Groshens said. “However, if food is grown both locally and sustainably in a way that supports biodiversity of the land—including plants, animals and soil—then consumers may find peace in the fact that their valuable food dollars are in a great way voting for a better world, a sustainable world that will last long into the future.”
The events on Food Day didn’t stop at the local lunch. The FJC met with St. Kate’s alumna Corrie Weikle to talk about her job as HECUA farm-to-table coordinator at
A sign of success
“Peas and justice”:
celebrating local food with the Food Justice Coalition
St. Kate’s student group promotes sustain­able eats through Food Day events
By Elora La Valle
staff writer
Time to write that novel
Creative writing students take on 50,000-word challenge
By Taylor Harwood
staff writer
Picture a room full of students tapping away at their keyboards and scratching pens against notebooks. Not an unusual sight on a college campus, certainly, but this month, students are not solely focused on writing lab reports and essays; November is the month for aspiring authors to write a novel: National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo).
If you secretly suspect you can write something better than those paperback romance novels on the clearance shelf at Half Price Books, or you simply want the bragging rights of having written your own novel, this could be your month.
NaNoWriMo is exactly as it sounds: the challenge of writing a novel in one month, the month of November. The idea is that
Graphic courtesy of NaNoWriMo website.even students and people with full-time jobs can write novels through NaNoWriMo. Established in 1999, NaNoWriMo provides a supportive setting for writers at NaNoWriMo.org, including pep talks from authors, forums to connect with other NaNoWriMo participants, and various writing resources. This year, about half a million participants are expected. Over 250 NaNoWriMo novels have been traditionally published, including Rainbow Rowell’s “Fangirl” and Sarah Gruen’s “Water for Elephants.”
English major Aubrey Hay is a teaching assistant for Professor Susan Welch’s Introduction to Creative Writing class this semester, and she is actively encouraging students in the class to participate in NaNoWriMo this November.
“When you complete 50,000 words and you can say, I did this… it feels so good,” Hay said. “It’s just a lot of fun!”
Hay discovered NaNoWriMo seven years ago and has been doing it every November since.
“I have so much fun with [NaNoWriMo], and I’m so passionate about writing,” Hay said.
When asked what made her decide to participate in NaNoWriMo this year, Cami Stenquist, an English and philosophy major in Welch’s creative writing class, replied that she loves storytelling, and NaNoWriMo is a good environment to get started writing.
“I think you have to throw yourself out there and give it a try,” Stenquist said. “It’s a relatively safe environment to try [writing a novel]. I don’t know if I’ll finish it, but I’ll certainly give it a good try.”
The goal of NaNoWriMo is for individuals to write 50,000 words total: 1,667 words per day for 30 days. Writers find the discipline of these parameters to be helpful.
“It gives you a goal to reach,” Stenquist said.
Another student in Welch’s creative writing class, Naomi Wolff, a Spanish K-12 major, also intends to participate in NaNoWriMo this year.
“I’ve never done [NaNoWriMo] before; I’d never even heard of it till Aubrey [Hay] started talking about it,” Wolff said. “I haven’t written since high school, but I love to write… this [creative writing] class has been my inspiration.”
Many may be intimidated by the word count or the idea of actually writing a novel during the busy month of November. For those who are reluctant to try NaNoWriMo, Hay gives encouragement.
“[Take a] deep breath and try anyway,” Hay said. “Words come if you start writing; it will come when you start writing.”
An additional aspect of NaNoWriMo that makes it a success, according to Hay, is the supportive community of writers through NaNoWriMo.org.
“The community is fantastic,” Hay said. “[There is] a huge group of people who encourage you.”
The Twin Cities chapter of NaNoWriMo is very active. Write-ins are staged throughout the Twin Cities, including at St. Kate’s. Hay plans to set up weekly write-ins on Wednesdays from 2 to 5:30 p.m. in the Pulse this November, and all community members are welcome to attend and write. The St. Kate’s English club will be holding write-ins on campus every Saturday in November, from 12 to 3 p.m. in the Cour de Catherine room 286.
Taylor can be reached at
tcharwood@stkate.eduGandhi Mahal, a Northern Indian restaurant in South Minneapolis praised for its use of local, sustainable produce. They then worked off the feast by going to a late night packaging session at Feed My Starving Children, where they helped compile over 13,000 meals for underprivileged children in Haiti.
Hungry for more information about the Food Justice Coalition—or just hungry? The FJC’s biggest goal this academic year is to collaborate with more student groups on campus. They already have events planned in conjunction with the Black Student Association, Exercise and Sports Science Club, Clay Club, and Kappa Omicron Nu. The FJC will be hard to miss.
Elora can be reached at
ejlavalle@stkate.edu
The Food Justice Coalition promotes initia­tives like the Community Garden. Photo by Christine McKenna.

St. Kate's Publications, St. Catherine University Archives and Special Collections. 2004 Randolph Ave., St. Paul, MN 55105. 651-690-6553; archives@stkate.edu; http://library.stkate.edu/archives

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By Nusaiba Imady
managing editor
See ASL, pg. 2
▶
▶
▶
▶
▶
▶
▶
▶
ST. CATHERINE UNIVERSITY STUDENT NEWSPAPER
november 6, 2013 - VOLUME 81 ISSUE 4
THE Wheel
This newspaper, like many other things, is recyclable.Soon to be Online! Watch for updates.
Index: News:2-4 Opinion:4 features:4-6 health:7 sports:8
ASL department reaches 30 year milestone
In 1983, back when St. Kate’s Minneapolis campus was still St. Mary’s Junior College, Pauline Annarino, the first director of the Health Care Interpreting program, received a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. It was called a Fund for Improvement of Post Secondary Education (FIPSE) grant and functioned to train students in Healthcare American Sign Language (ASL) interpreting. What started off then as an associate’s degree program has expanded to become a department recognized internationally for the pioneering it has done within the interpreting profession and education.
The St. Kate’s ASL & Interpreting department started off as the only interpreting program in the world to offer a Healthcare Interpreting program for ASL/English interpreters. The department expanded from a two to four year program when it was realized that the associate’s degree did not allow the students enough time to become proficient in ASL. Expanding to offer a bachelor of arts degree changed professional standards and expectations and allowed the program to reflect the current research in ASL and interpreting.
Paula Gajewski-Mickelson, the ASL & Interpreting department chair, remarked on how the ASL department is constantly moving forward.
“Our faculty, department [and] the program reflect a commitment to high quality education and innovation” Gajewski-Mickelson said. “We are always talking about what we’re doing, what the students are learning and how we can do it better. This is why our program is such a strong one; it continues to develop as the field develops.”
St. Kate’s offers three possible programs of study that include ASL. The first, a minor in ASL as a language, is highly recommended for any students with an interest in the language and wishes to pair it with any other major program of study. The second, a major in ASL, does not give students the ability to interpret but affords them a program to concentrate on studying the language and Deaf Culture, much like majoring in French or Spanish would. The third is the ASL Interpreting major. The ASL & Interpreting department is the only interpreter education program accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Interpreter Education in Minnesota and is among a handful of programs in the United States to offer an accredited bachelor’s degree program
On Oct. 24, the St. Kate’s Food Justice Coalition (FJC) collaborated with Sodexo to celebrate Food Day by offering a multitude of events, services and information on campus. Sodexo has been cultivating relationships with local farmers all around the Midwest through their “Better Tomorrow” plan, which emphasizes increased sustainability and ethical business practices. The “Better Tomorrow” plan finds value in communicating with community members and has specified collaborative green goals for 2015 and 2020, which can be found in the St. Kate’s cafeteria.
“Concentrating on dialogue and joint actions with our stakeholders is key for us to define and refine our strategy for sustainable development and areas of action,” the Sodexo website says.
As a component of Food Day, the cafeteria held a lunch that highlighted dishes made with meat, dairy and produce from local farms, up to 60 miles away. FJC member Emily Paquette ‘14 revealed the results of a preference poll for the local dishes served.
“Students really liked the grilled cheese, which was three local cheeses and local McIntosh apples sandwiched between thick local bread,” Paquette said.
She said that another one of the FJC’s goals for Food Day was to highlight the salad bar, which has options from local farms every day.
Additionally, students from the FJC tabled and handed out recipes that could be made using ingredients found in the cafeteria salad bar. Kat Groshens, president of the FJC, provides enlightenment as to why eating locally and sustainably is so important to our campus and our planet.
“There is value in reducing food miles between farm and fork because it helps to decrease transportation emissions and ultimately to mitigate climate change,” Groshens said. “Since foods produced and bought locally have fewer miles to travel, it also means people get food when it’s fresh. By choosing local foods we can help to support our community’s farmers, and in turn help to build resilience and self-reliance in our neighborhoods, both economically and ecologically. An increase in local foods can boost community food security if managed correctly and reduce hunger. Investing in local foods can even help recover near-extinct varieties of crops.”
Groshens also emphasized the fact that not all local foods are produced sustainably, so it is vital to act as an “informed consumer,” rather than a “conformed consumer.”
“We must be wary of being “green-washed” by businesses looking to jump on the local/natural/green foods bandwagon without genuine commitment to the cause,” Groshens said. “However, if food is grown both locally and sustainably in a way that supports biodiversity of the land—including plants, animals and soil—then consumers may find peace in the fact that their valuable food dollars are in a great way voting for a better world, a sustainable world that will last long into the future.”
The events on Food Day didn’t stop at the local lunch. The FJC met with St. Kate’s alumna Corrie Weikle to talk about her job as HECUA farm-to-table coordinator at
A sign of success
“Peas and justice”:
celebrating local food with the Food Justice Coalition
St. Kate’s student group promotes sustain­able eats through Food Day events
By Elora La Valle
staff writer
Time to write that novel
Creative writing students take on 50,000-word challenge
By Taylor Harwood
staff writer
Picture a room full of students tapping away at their keyboards and scratching pens against notebooks. Not an unusual sight on a college campus, certainly, but this month, students are not solely focused on writing lab reports and essays; November is the month for aspiring authors to write a novel: National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo).
If you secretly suspect you can write something better than those paperback romance novels on the clearance shelf at Half Price Books, or you simply want the bragging rights of having written your own novel, this could be your month.
NaNoWriMo is exactly as it sounds: the challenge of writing a novel in one month, the month of November. The idea is that
Graphic courtesy of NaNoWriMo website.even students and people with full-time jobs can write novels through NaNoWriMo. Established in 1999, NaNoWriMo provides a supportive setting for writers at NaNoWriMo.org, including pep talks from authors, forums to connect with other NaNoWriMo participants, and various writing resources. This year, about half a million participants are expected. Over 250 NaNoWriMo novels have been traditionally published, including Rainbow Rowell’s “Fangirl” and Sarah Gruen’s “Water for Elephants.”
English major Aubrey Hay is a teaching assistant for Professor Susan Welch’s Introduction to Creative Writing class this semester, and she is actively encouraging students in the class to participate in NaNoWriMo this November.
“When you complete 50,000 words and you can say, I did this… it feels so good,” Hay said. “It’s just a lot of fun!”
Hay discovered NaNoWriMo seven years ago and has been doing it every November since.
“I have so much fun with [NaNoWriMo], and I’m so passionate about writing,” Hay said.
When asked what made her decide to participate in NaNoWriMo this year, Cami Stenquist, an English and philosophy major in Welch’s creative writing class, replied that she loves storytelling, and NaNoWriMo is a good environment to get started writing.
“I think you have to throw yourself out there and give it a try,” Stenquist said. “It’s a relatively safe environment to try [writing a novel]. I don’t know if I’ll finish it, but I’ll certainly give it a good try.”
The goal of NaNoWriMo is for individuals to write 50,000 words total: 1,667 words per day for 30 days. Writers find the discipline of these parameters to be helpful.
“It gives you a goal to reach,” Stenquist said.
Another student in Welch’s creative writing class, Naomi Wolff, a Spanish K-12 major, also intends to participate in NaNoWriMo this year.
“I’ve never done [NaNoWriMo] before; I’d never even heard of it till Aubrey [Hay] started talking about it,” Wolff said. “I haven’t written since high school, but I love to write… this [creative writing] class has been my inspiration.”
Many may be intimidated by the word count or the idea of actually writing a novel during the busy month of November. For those who are reluctant to try NaNoWriMo, Hay gives encouragement.
“[Take a] deep breath and try anyway,” Hay said. “Words come if you start writing; it will come when you start writing.”
An additional aspect of NaNoWriMo that makes it a success, according to Hay, is the supportive community of writers through NaNoWriMo.org.
“The community is fantastic,” Hay said. “[There is] a huge group of people who encourage you.”
The Twin Cities chapter of NaNoWriMo is very active. Write-ins are staged throughout the Twin Cities, including at St. Kate’s. Hay plans to set up weekly write-ins on Wednesdays from 2 to 5:30 p.m. in the Pulse this November, and all community members are welcome to attend and write. The St. Kate’s English club will be holding write-ins on campus every Saturday in November, from 12 to 3 p.m. in the Cour de Catherine room 286.
Taylor can be reached at
tcharwood@stkate.eduGandhi Mahal, a Northern Indian restaurant in South Minneapolis praised for its use of local, sustainable produce. They then worked off the feast by going to a late night packaging session at Feed My Starving Children, where they helped compile over 13,000 meals for underprivileged children in Haiti.
Hungry for more information about the Food Justice Coalition—or just hungry? The FJC’s biggest goal this academic year is to collaborate with more student groups on campus. They already have events planned in conjunction with the Black Student Association, Exercise and Sports Science Club, Clay Club, and Kappa Omicron Nu. The FJC will be hard to miss.
Elora can be reached at
ejlavalle@stkate.edu
The Food Justice Coalition promotes initia­tives like the Community Garden. Photo by Christine McKenna.